i need advice on building the best laptop with a budget of £1000

A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
ArcticMonkey said:
thanks for your time and effort mate! i'll have a long think about the advice you've given me :)

another thing to keep in mind is that i'd want this laptop to last me quite a while hence part of the reason im spending so much. i want it to still be decent in say 4 years time
Click to expand...

Lol, i was in the same mind frame as you when i wanted my laptop, i wanted it to last many years, but technology gets outdated very quick, especially the graphics will not be able to play ball with new game realeases after a few years, but the cpu, and the hard drive will last, and for movies the 630 is more than enough now and in a few years im sure will still be able to play at the same resolution as now.

You wont really have a problem of getting an out of date system as your spec is fine and your needs are different.

But if in the future u want to play some games now, or in a year or 2, go with the optimus, that will sort you.
 
A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
PlasticTastic said:
That's a fair point.
Based off what I've read, I'd recommend:


Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 1.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BD-5750H 6x BLURAY WRITER & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£79)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus/Voyager Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £977.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/optimusIII-17/sjZzuUPbMg/

Got a nice SSD to store your OS and startup program's on too, but if you don't care about startup times, you could take it off and save a fair bit of money :)
Click to expand...

brilliant. booting and loading times are definitely a priority, so would an ssd be the way to go?
 
A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
+ with the voyager you can only have 1 hard drive + 1 odd, not 2 hard drive + 1 odd, but with the optimus you can have 2 hard drive + disk drive, if i was you i would go with the optimus, if you want the system to last and in the future be able to cope with demanding tasks.
 
A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
I would go with similar to plastic spec, but without the 2nd hard drive, get an external hard drive, usb 3.0 preferably, and the silver warranty
 
A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
Yes ssd is the way to go for boot times, i got the 500gb hybrid and the login screen for me takes 20 secs to get, ssd will boot much more faster
 
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A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
AzY said:
Lol, i was in the same mind frame as you when i wanted my laptop, i wanted it to last many years, but technology gets outdated very quick, especially the graphics will not be able to play ball with new game realeases after a few years, but the cpu, and the hard drive will last, and for movies the 630 is more than enough now and in a few years im sure will still be able to play at the same resolution as now.

You wont really have a problem of getting an out of date system as your spec is fine and your needs are different.

But if in the future u want to play some games now, or in a year or 2, go with the optimus, that will sort you.
Click to expand...

you've been a great help Azy. thank you and i'll be back later to do some configurations of my own and then maybe order it tomorrow. i shall let you know what i choose. thanks again lad :)
 
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P

PlasticTastic

Bronze Level Poster
Yes, an SSD is DEFINATELY the way to go for boot times. You can get insanely fast boot times with them (20 seconds from pressing the ON button to finish? Yes please!). Also, AzY, why would you go for one SSD and an external drive if you can fit 2 internal drives and the CD drive?
 
A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
ArcticMonkey said:
you've been a great help Azy. thank you and i'll be back later to do some configurations of my own and then maybe order it tomorrow. i shall let you know what i choose. thanks again lad :)
Click to expand...

leave me a messege of what you chose :)
 
A

AzY

Gold Level Poster
PlasticTastic said:
Yes, an SSD is DEFINATELY the way to go for boot times. You can get insanely fast boot times with them (20 seconds from pressing the ON button to finish? Yes please!). Also, AzY, why would you go for one SSD and an external drive if you can fit 2 internal drives and the CD drive?
Click to expand...

Portability, quick transfers of files and movies onto in, and can utilise the fast usb3.0 ports, but if you dont need it and want a hd in your spec go for it
 
A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
Adli said:
get the optimus without the BR drive and wireless then, it has the better screen for cheaper. the main improvement of the Vortex and Skyfire is gaming, so stick with the Optimus if you just want movies and such :D

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" AUO Matte Full HD Widescreen (1920x1080) (£85)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 1.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Optimus/Voyager Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days

£1002 inc VAT and Delivery.

i added the Gold Warranty with the money saved by dropping the BR drive :)
Click to expand...

great work Adil, much appreciated!:)
 
A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
i have come up with three quite different configurations.

1) £868.00

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" AUO Matte Full HD Widescreen (1920x1080) (£85)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 1.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Upgrade to 62.16WH 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (£39)

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

.........................................................................................................................................

2. £961.00

Chassis & Display
SkyFire:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 4 in 1 Card Reader (SDXC/MMC/MS/XD)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
SkyFire Series 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

...........................................................................................................................................

3. £1,117.00

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series:17.3" AUO Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£85)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT

Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

...........................please could i get your thoughts on the above laptops! thank you :)..............................

a few questions as well, if i may:
- is the Intel® Core™i7-3610QM a better option to the Intel® Core™i7-3520M?
- would i be able to get a copy of windows 7 online and install it myself? if so, would this be a complex process?
- is the back lit Keyboard only available in the Vortex range?

thanks a lot guys!
 
A

Adli

Enthusiast
ArcticMonkey said:
a few questions as well, if i may:
- is the Intel® Core™i7-3610QM a better option to the Intel® Core™i7-3520M?
- would i be able to get a copy of windows 7 online and install it myself? if so, would this be a complex process?
- is the back lit Keyboard only available in the Vortex range?

thanks a lot guys!
Click to expand...

1) http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3610QM+@+2.30GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3520M+@+2.90GHz

the 3610QM is much better

2) you can do a clean install with your own OS if you want to, it's fairly simple to do.

3) the backlit keyboard is only available on the Vortex III laptops.

as for the laptops you posted, i would go for the Optimus as you don't need the gaming power that the Vortex and Skyfire chassis bring, but add a large secondary HDD (or make the primary SSD larger) to compensate for the small primary SSD. this will save you having to keep transferring files back and forth between external drives.
 
A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
Adli said:
1) http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3610QM+@+2.30GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3520M+@+2.90GHz

the 3610QM is much better

2) you can do a clean install with your own OS if you want to, it's fairly simple to do.

3) the backlit keyboard is only available on the Vortex III laptops.

as for the laptops you posted, i would go for the Optimus as you don't need the gaming power that the Vortex and Skyfire chassis bring, but add a large secondary HDD (or make the primary SSD larger) to compensate for the small primary SSD. this will save you having to keep transferring files back and forth between external drives.
Click to expand...

i think its final then. i'll go for the Optimus! as for the 2nd HDD, wouldn't an external usb 3.0 HDD be a better/cheaper choice. also,is the AUO Matte screen worth the extra money?

thank you for guiding me Adil! appreciate it :)
 
A

Adli

Enthusiast
ArcticMonkey said:
i think its final then. i'll go for the Optimus! as for the 2nd HDD, wouldn't an external usb 3.0 HDD be a better/cheaper choice. also,is the AUO Matte screen worth the extra money?

thank you for guiding me Adil! appreciate it :)
Click to expand...

while the 2TB WD MyBook would be better and cheaper than a second internal HDD, you would have to bring the external HDD with you (or load the SSD with movies beforehand) if you wanted to go to a friends house for example. if you don't mind that then definitely go for the external drive. if you like all your movies to be on your laptop at once then go for the internal HDD (perhaps the 750GB WD Scorpio Black).

i have no experience with the AOU Matte screen, but the Matte coating will cut down on glare (better viewing experience in light rooms/outdoors) and the AUO screen is a professional grade screen so will give the most accurate representation of colour. for a high-end Multimedia laptop it seems like a great screen to go for.
 
P

PlasticTastic

Bronze Level Poster
That Optimus looks like a great build :) although I would upgrade the intel 330 to the 550. it's a fair bit faster :) and yes you can install your own operating system, my friend did it. The AUO screen is apparently amazing, and if the main reason you want it is media, then you would want it. And as Adli said, the external drive is cheaper, however you'll have to carry it around with you all the time, and some even need a external power supply, so I would recommend getting an internal HDD as your second drive.

Also you can upgrade to blu-ray, it will be within your budget ;)
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
intel 330 to the 550. it's a fair bit faster
Click to expand...
The 330 has a better sequential read/write performance and is rated for fewer write cycles than the 520 (330 comes with 3 years warranty and 520 with 5 years), I have both and in day to day applications I can't really tell the difference. The intel 330 is a good choice if you want to stay within your budget.
 
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A

ArcticMonkey

Bronze Level Poster
Adli said:
while the 2TB WD MyBook would be better and cheaper than a second internal HDD, you would have to bring the external HDD with you (or load the SSD with movies beforehand) if you wanted to go to a friends house for example. if you don't mind that then definitely go for the external drive. if you like all your movies to be on your laptop at once then go for the internal HDD (perhaps the 750GB WD Scorpio Black).

i have no experience with the AOU Matte screen, but the Matte coating will cut down on glare (better viewing experience in light rooms/outdoors) and the AUO screen is a professional grade screen so will give the most accurate representation of colour. for a high-end Multimedia laptop it seems like a great screen to go for.
Click to expand...

you make a great point regarding the HDD situation. however, im going to need the extra space the external HDD provides. it will be a bit of a hassle taking it around though, like you said :/

The AUO screen sounds perfect for what im trying to go for. so thanks for that bit of info as well.

one more thing! (sorry for all the questions mate. you've been great) how might i go about getting and installing my own OS?

cheers Adil.
 
P

PlasticTastic

Bronze Level Poster
I wouldn't know about installing using windows online, but to install with a disc, simply pop the disc in, restart, select install windows, and follow the instructions. I presume it's similar with a download :)
 
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